Monday, August 21, 2017

Starting with last season and really ramping up this year, Game of Thrones has been efficiently re-uniting the once-scattered cast of the HBO series. Arya briefly saw her direwolf; Sansa has found both Bran and Jon. A whole mess of characters who knew each other’s dads met up north of the Wall. But nothing we’ve seen yet can quite match the major meeting looming in the finale. Everyone will be down south for the big meeting of Kings, Queens, and zombies. Well, almost everyone.You had your chance to go to the party, Sansa, but you (snottily) sent Brienne instead. Speaking of which, let’s take a full accounting of everyone we see gathered in one place for the finale.We see (deep breath): Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) , Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Bronn (Jerome Flynn), Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk)—or at least his fleet, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), Pod (Daniel Portman), and just behind him Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), Varys (Conleth Hill), Theon (Alfie Allen), Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Davos (Liam Cunningham), the Hound (Rory McCann) and Brienne (Gwendoline Christie). We don’t see Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) but she’s undoubtedly there as well as a few other familiar faces. Plus, you know, scores of armies spoiling for a fight.Please don’t ask me how Grey Worm and the Unsullied escaped from Casterly Rock. Just be glad our second favourite eunuch (behind Varys but in front of Theon) is safe and sound. As for the dazzling location itself, this is the much-anticipated Dragonpit.

News first broke back in August that Game of Thrones was using the picturesque Italica ruins near Seville, Spain, to stand in for the Dragonpit—a cavernous ruin perched atop of the hills of King’s Landing. This is what that evocative location looks like in the books, and here’s what the ruins look like in real life.

This is why we think by Daenerys, will likely be there. What’s a Dragonpit without dragons? This as-yet-unamed episode will be directed by Jeremy Podeswa. Controversial though he may be, Podeswa has directed some truly impressive and beautifully filmed action for Thrones in the past, including Jorah and Tyrion’s confrontation with the Stone Men, Brienne and Pod’s heroic rescue of Sansa and Theon from the Bolton soldiers, and Tyrion’s dramatic unchaining of Viserion and Rhaegal.So whatever happens at the end of this dustup between so many main characters, it’s promising to be a lovely war.

This article originally appeared on Vanityfair.com

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